Ceanothus pallidus Marie Blue

Ceanothus pallidus Marie Blue is a variety of California Lilac that is interesting for its very dense habit and generous sky blue summer flowering. This bush develops reddish-purple branches and bears tender green leaves, which can persist on the plant when the winter is mild. Unlike evergreen Ceanothuses, Ceanothus x pallidus flowers in summer and is hardy. Superb as a standalone or in a mass planting in any well-drained soil, even chalky and occasionally dry.

Ceanothus Marie Blue belongs to the Rhamnaceae family, it was obtained in 2003 by the Minier Nurseries. Ceanothus x pallidus is the result of a cross between Ceanothus delilianus and C. ovatus. It is a rounded, highly-branched shrub that quickly reaches about 1.50m (4ft 11in) in height and 1m (3ft 4in) in width. Its stems are slender, well-branched, and dark red-purple in colour. They bear ovate to lanceolate leaves of a fairly light green that fall in autumn outside of our regions spared by severe frost. The flowering is long, occurring from July to early September. One-year-old branches produce branched inflorescences filled with short panicles, themselves composed of tiny slightly fragrant flowers. Their colour is mauve blue at first, quickly fading to sky blue. The fruits are small, shiny dark red, quite decorative.

Ceanothus Marie Blue is most often used in shrub borders or hedges, for example, in the company of its pink-flowered counterpart Marie Simon, 'Snowball Viburnums (Viburnum opulus), Lilacs (Syringa), Deutzia or Mock Oranges (Philadelphus). It is an excellent ornamental shrub that is easy to grow in ordinary, well-worked garden soil, even slightly chalky. It can withstand short frosts of around -15 °C. Its lovely flowering attracts bees and many pollinators.